The apex court’s argument was made public on a day when the PAC received the list of plots allotted to the top judges and civil servants, which revealed that 15 judges, including three serving ones, and 56 bureaucrats had been allotted more than one plot in Islamabad.

The Supreme Court had replied to a latter written to the registrar during the stint of former PAC chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, which was not dispatched at that time. But the new chairman, Nadeem Afzal Chan, ordered to dispatch it.

The reply said the PAC could not carry out the audit of apex court, as according to Article 68 of the Constitution, the Parliament had no authority to discuss the conduct of judges.

The court, in its letter, told the committee that only the president could decide upon the court’s consultative ambit. “Judges’ conduct also covers judiciary’s administrative and financial matters,” it added.

The letter issued by the Supreme Court’s full court also states that according to various constitutional provisions, the PAC cannot summon any official of the superior judiciary, including the registrar. “If the committee is interested in a formal court order, it should approach the president.”

The letter referred to Article 68 which said: “No discussion shall take place in [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] with respect to the conduct of any judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties.”

On the other hand, the details provided by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the PAC shows the judges have been allotted plots in two different sectors using different eligibility categories - Basic Pay Scale-22 and age wise seniority.

Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain and Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, are the serving judges who got two plots in federal capital. About Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the report stated that he was not among the beneficiaries.